Follow me with Swift...

lol

 

Man...I just want to be like this guy when I grow up. ...what a twinkie.

 

man it sure is nice to have one of the founding members of the oregon trail on this thread

 

I hope things have worked out for you and you can get going on your own. I was able to retain my teaching job so I got my money back from the school. After all these stories I am almost glad to not have to deal with this now

 

Any update as of yet?

 

Looks like he may have thrown in the towel.

 

Maybe a lot lizard got him....lol! Just joking LovetoShift. Would like to hear more about what's going on during the time with your mentor. Have been following this thread since you started it.

 

Update: I have been running hard (10-11hrs a day). So I have to make this short. I'm hanging in there with this company. I only have 120hrs to go until I'm done. I almost quit, I did quit, told my mentor and DM, "I'm done". Why: anybody coming too swift as a new driver, please take this advise, before going out with a mentor, ask if the mentor can be a company driver instead of an O/O. Why: after four weeks if being OTR, l realized that O/O makes and sets their own PTA, (loads). They seem to be more focus on making money by having you get them sick miles, instead of focusing on teaching. After your done with your first fifty hours, get ready to see a major change in your mentor because now your team driving. Once you are finish with your hours of training (240) your not going to be doing anything like you were exposed to with your o/o mentor because you will be a company driver. My mentor I have now seems to be more focus on getting long miles fort the sake if his check book. While her/she Is making 3k a week off of your hard driving (386.00wk). Dont think about going home even if your at your home terminal, but as for the mentor, they well go home for days maybe even two weeks (my mentor) and leave you either in a hotel, or the cab (my mentor). I found out that swift doesn't want you to go home because they think once you see your family you won't tenth to come back. When my DM said that l clearly told her that seeing my family would motivate me to run harder because I would see what I'm working for.

Ok so in a but shell....

Its hard out here no lie, swift should only let company drivers be mentors, not o/o. If you really love being behind the wheel of a rig, stick in there. Training is hard especially when you have family that your use to seeing every night. But know your working for them.
And keep an open communication with your mentor. If you want off the truck thee mentor will ask you what is it about them that makers you want off. ( I had two mentors, my first got fired, but when he heard that her had to drop me off he asked her one millions times did l call in. thus current mentor speed that same thing.) I hope this helps someone decision before getting into it.

 

Thanks Love2Shift! Definitely helpful. Also good to hear from you. Sounds like Swift O/O trainers can pretty much use you as slave labor if they want to.... How much longer do you have with your mentor? I hope not long.

 

I'm here at my home terminal. I live twenty minutes away, I have only seven running hours on my log, mentor has eight. We hace a load due too CN monday night. Truckers, wouldn't it make since too reset hours before accepting a high value load? Also his truck is broke down in the yard. But for me to go home untill he's done is not in swift mind. This is bad business.

Wanna laugh read this story: "Punked for a trailer"
So my mentor and l were awaiting for an empty trailer so we can pick up our load for the next trip. If any of you experience drivers know, empty trailers is like gold. Well we get dispatched to a Target terminal that claim to have an empty trailer. So we arrive at the terminal see the trailer and my mentor gets out to make sure its empty. While he's out checking the trailer, another bobtail pulls along side of me. The driver gets out and the first thing he asked me was if l was a trainee. After telling him l was, he tells me that he is assigned to this trailer and he has a load to be picked up in ten minutes. I told him to talk to my mentor, which he did, why did my mentor agree to give him the trailer knowing that there is no way for a driver tobe assigned to a trailer before coupling it? He claims he saw another empty. Well that turned out to be not true. So basically l learned that when you see an empty hook that s#it up.... So yeah l pretty much got punked... But lesson learned for when l go solo..